Head motion for looms



May 5, 1953 A. H. LANDRY HEAD MOTION FOR LOOMS' 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 8, 1950 ZP/s INVENTOR.

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May 5, 1953 A. H. LANDRY HEAD MOTION FOR LOOMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed D90. 8, 1950 FIG. 6.

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Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT: orrice 6 Claims.

This invention relates to head motions for looms and more particularly to a head motion for operating a multiple harness assembly.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved head motion for textile looms which is effective to operate a number of harness structures in predetermined order; which eliminates the necessity for the main shaft provided in existing looms, providing space within the loom for larger warp beams or for other devices; which is mounted on the top of the loom frame where it is readily accessible for inspection, servicing and repair and is driven directly from the crank shaft of the loom; which positively moves the harness structures at all times, preventing harness skips in the woven fabric, and is capable of operating the harness assembly at a speed which will greatly increase the number of picks per minute now obtained with existing looms; which includes an improved clutch assembly for putting the head motion into and out of operation and an improved crank shaft bearing structure; which directly operates the loom take 01f mechanism; and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, and may be installed on an existing loom or incorporated in a new loom, as may be desired.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following deon an enlarged scale on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line t--4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale on the line t-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a fragmentar cross sectional view on the line l-l of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an elevational view of a clutch assembly constituting an operative component of the mechanism with the clutch parts shown in a different relative position from that illustrated in Figure '7 and 2 Figure 9 is a cross sectional view on the line 9-9 of Figure 3.

With continued reference to the drawings, the loom has a pair of spaced apart and substantially parallel end frames, one of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and generally ried thereby in a manner well known to the art.

As the loom mechanism is old and well known to the art, it has been considered unnecessary to fully illustrate such mechanism for the purposes of the present disclosure, only those parts of the loom mechanismhaving a bearing on the improved head motion mechanism of the present invention having been illustrated.

In existing looms a main shaft extends between and is journaled at its opposite ends in the end frames near the rear edges of the end frames and at a convenient distance above the loom supporting surface. As this shaft is not needed when the improved head motion mechanism is used, the drawings illustrate the warp beam arbors l3 journaled in bearings Hi disposed adjacent the locations of the main shaft bearings which are no longer necessary and illustrate a warp beam l5 carried on the arbors l3 and disposed substantially within the space between the two end frames of the loom, the warp beam l5 being materially larger than the warp beams which existing looms equipped with main shafts are able to accommodate.

At their front edges the end frames are provided with upwardly extending horns or standards l6 and a breast beam I'l extends between the upper ends of these standards and is secured at its opposite ends to the standards It at the upper ends of the latter. At their rear sides the end frames are provided with upwardly extending frame structures It and an arch structure is extends between and somewhat above the upper ends of the frame structures 18, the arch structure being bent downwardly at its opposite ends and securely connected to the frame structures H3 at the upper ends of the latter. This arch structure includes two spaced apart and substantially parallel bars 28 and ii, the ends of which are secured to brackets, as indicated at A gear is mounted on the crank shaft 23 i at the outer side of the bracket 24 and a com plementary gear 25 has a hub or axle mounted on the bracket 24 and the gear 26 meshes with and is driven by a gear 25.

The bearing bracket 24 is provided with bearing arms 21 and 2B terminating in bearings disposed one above and the other below the gears '25 and 26 and a vertically disposed shaft 28 is journaled near its lower end in the bearings 30 and 3| carried by the arms 21 and 28 respectively.

A two part clutch, generally indicated at 32, and illustrated in detail in Figures 6, 7 and 8, is mounted on the shaft 29 between the bearings 50 and 3 i. This clutch comprises a first element 33 slidably mounted on the shaft 29 but drivingly connected to the shaft by suitable means, such as the key 34 carried by the clutch element 33 and slidable in an elongated keyway 35 provided in the shaft 29, and a second element 35- rotatably mounted on the shaft immediately below the element 33.

The element 35 is restrained against movement longitudinally of the shaft by a pin 3'! extending through a radial aperture in the clutch element and provided at its inner end with a block 35 received in an annular groove in the shaft 29. The block 38 is resiliently held in the groove 39 by a compression spring 40 mounted in a counterbore in the pin receiving aperture and acting between the block it and the end of the counterbore remote from the shaft 28 and the pin is provided outside of the clutch element with a knob or head 4! by means of which the pin can be manually pulled outwardly to release the slide u block 38 from the groove 39 and free the clutch element 35 for movement longitudinally of the shaft 29.

The clutch elements 33 and 36 are provided in their abutting faces with complementary semicylindrical recesses 42 and 43 respectively providing substantially semicylindrical projections or clutch dogs id and 45, the arrangement being such that the clutch dog of each clutch element is received in the recess in the complementary clutch element when the clutch dogs are operatively coupled together.

The two clutch dogs 45 and 45 have wear faces of large area extending diametrically of the corresponding clutch elements and disposed substantially in a plane including the longitudinal center line of the shaft 29 so that wear of the clutch over long periods of time is negligible.

The clutch element 33 has at its end remote from the element 36 a portion 46 of reduced diameter having an annular groove 41 therein. A clutch fork 48 is received in the groove ll at one end and pivotally connected at its other end to the bearing bracket 24, and suitable means are connected to this fork for raising the element 33 away from the element 45 when it is desired to uncouple the clutch and discontinue operation of the head motion mechanism.

A beveled gear formation 59 is formed on the end of the clutch element 36 remote from the '4 clutch element and meshes with a beveled gear 5! carried by the gear 26 coaxially with the axis of rotation of this gear.

With this arrangement, when the crank shaft of the loom is rotating, and the clutch 32 is coupled, the vertical shaft 29 will be rotationally driven by the crank shaft of the loom.

Bearings 52 and 53 are mounted one on each of the arch bars 20 and El near the bracket 22 and a jack shaft 56 is journaled in these bearings and extends transversely of the frame arch and of the crank shaft One end of the jack shaft 5t is disposed adjacent the upper end of the vertical shaft 29 and beveled gears and 55 are mounted on the jack shaft and the vertical shaft respectively and intermesh to provide a driving connection from the vertical shaft to the jack shaft. An angle bracket 51 has bearings disposed one at each end thereof and one re ceiving the jack shaft 54% adjacent the gear 55 and the other receiving the vertical shaft 29 adjacent the beveled gear 56 to hold the beveled gears 55 and 56 in meshing relationship with each other.

Bearings iid and 59 are mounted on the arch bars 29 and El respectively above the bearings 52 and 53 and a cam shaft 68 is journaled in these bearings 58 and 59. A gear 6! is mounted on the jack shaft E tat the end of this shaft remote from the beveled gear 55 and a gear 52 is mounted on the corresponding end of the cam shaft 50 and meshes with the gear 6|, the gears 6i and t2 providing a driving connection from th jack shaft 54 to the cam shaft 0.

Two arms 53 and 64 are disposed in upright position adjacent the cam shaft and are pivotally mounted at their lower ends by means of corresponding bearing sleeves 65 and E6 on a shaft 6? the opposite ends of which are secured in bracket extensions 68 secured to and projecting from the under side of the arch bars 20 and 2! respectively near the ends of these bars secured to the bracket 22. The sleeve 65 is secured to the arm 83, the sleeve 66 is secured to the arm 66 and the arms are held in properly spaced apart positions relative to each other by a spacer sleeve 68 surrounding the shaft 61 between the arms. Near their upper ends the arms 64 and G5 are provided on their edges facing the cam shaft 68 with a series of notches 69 and It, for a purpose to be presently described.

Two cylindrical cams (I and 12 are eccentrically mounted on the cam shaft 63 between the arch bars 2E? and 2| and these cams are disposed substantially 180 degrees out of phase with each other. These cams are held in position between the arch bars by spacer sleeves l3 and M surrounding the cam shaft 6t and respectively disposed between the arch bar 26 and the cams and the arch bar 2! and the cams. The cam are held in spaced apart relationship by a bearing washer iii disposed therebetween.

A conn cting link l6 has at one end an annular enlargement receiving the cam H and an antifriction bearing including antifriction ball elements fl is disposed between the cam ll and the end enlargement of the connecting link 76. At its other end the connecting link 76 is provided with a transversely projecting pin 78 received in an aperture in the arm 63 above the shaft 61. A similar connecting link l9 has at one end an annular enlargement receiving the cylindrical earn [2 and an antifriction bearing including the antifriction ball elements 80 is disposed between the periphery of the cam 12 and the enlarged end formation of the connecting link 18; The connecting link 19 has at its other end a transversely extending pin 6! received in an aperture in the arm fit above the shaft 61.

With this arrangement, when the cam shaft is rotated, as explained above, the arms 63 and M will be rocked or oscillated back and forth about the axis of their pivotal mountings on the shaft 61.

Vertically movable harness structures, generally indicated at 82, are disposed between the end frames of the loom and below the arch 19. These harness structures are of well known construction and are connected to the warp threads to alternately move adjacent warp threads in opposite directions to provide the shed for the loom shuttle in a manner well known to the art.

Sheaves, as indicated at 83 and 84, are disposed between the arch bars as and 2| above the harness structures 82 at spaced apart locations along the arch bars and are rotatably mounted on shafts 85 and 86, the ends of which are received in suitable apertures provided in the arch bars. Flexible strands 8'! and 88 are connected to one of the harness structures 82 at spaced apart locations along the upper edge of the harness structure and are carried over sheaves 83 and as re spectively toward the arms 53 and 64. At their ends remote from the corresponding harness structure the strands 81 and 88 are connected to a clip 9!] which is hung on the arm 64 and positioned longitudinally of the arm by engaging in a selected one of the notches 10.

Similar strands 9| and 92 are connected to another of the harness structures 32 at one end and connected by a clip 93 to the other arm 63, the clip being engaged in a selected notch 59 to position the clip longitudinally of the corresponding arm.

It is to be understood that each arm may be connected to one or more harness structures so that groups including several harness structures can be moved in respectively opposite directions by the head motion and also that additional arms may be provided and operatively connected to the crank shaft in the above described manner, if desired.

The arms 63 and 64 act to raise the harness structures connected thereto and these harness structures are returned downwardly by suitable tension springs 94 connected between the bottom edges of the harness structures and a frame member 95 extending across the space between the end frames Ii! near the lower ends of these frames and secured at its respectively opposite ends to the end frames.

A shaft Q5 is substantially horizontally disposed at the outer side of the end frame ill and has one end positioned adjacent the lower end of the vertical shaft 29. A beveled gear ill is secured on the lower end of the shaft 29 and a complementary beveled gear 98 is secured on the end of the shaft 95 adjacent the shaft 29 and meshes with the beveled gear Bl to provide a driving connection from the shaft 29 to the shaft 96. An angle bracket 99 is connected at one end to the lower bearing 3! for the shaft 29 and is provided at its other end with a bearing ill!) which receives the shaft 96 adjacent the beveled gear 518 to maintain the beveled gears 91 and 98 in proper mesh ng relationshi Near its other end the shaft 95 is journaled in a bearing H]! secured on the end frame In near the front edge of the latter and a worm N12 is mounted on the shaft 95 adjacent the bearing l0! and meshes with a '6 worm gear I03 which drives the take off beam or roll of the loom. The shaft 96 extends forwardly of the end frame beyond the bearing llll and is provided on its end remote from the beveled gear 88 with a hand wheel IM by means of which the take off mechanism can be manually operated, when necessary, to remove slack from the fabric.

The above described construction provides the head motion mechanism entirely on the outside of the loom where it is readily accessible for inspection, servicing and repair and positions the major portion of the head motion mechanism above the loom where it is out of the way. Removing the head motion mechanism from the lower portion of the space between the end frames of the loom makes this space available to receive the warp beam l5 and provides adequate sqace to accommodate a warp beam of increased size since the main shaft usually provided in the loom is no longer necessary. The direct drive from the 100m crank shaft to the head motion mechanism provides a positive operation of the harness structures 52 eliminating the condition known as harness skips and, because of the rigid construction of the head motion mechanism, the rigid mounting of this mechanism on the loom frame and the provision of antifriction bearings where necessary, the speed of operation of the head motion mechanism can be materially increased to substantially increase the operative capacity of the loom.

As is particularly illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6, the bearing bracket 2d comprises a flat plate portion I65 of rectangular shape which overlies the outer side of the end frame Ill at the bottom of the space between the two upwardly extending standards of the frame extension is and is pro vided with spaced apart apertures receiving bolts we and it": which extend through spaced apart and horizontally disposed slots in the end frame to adjustably secure the bracket to the end frame. A bearing housing Hit is formed at the upper edge of the rectangular plate portion I and extends across the adjacent horizontal edge of the frame to receive the corresponding end of the crank shaft 23. Antifriction roller elements liil are disposed in the housing Ills surrounding the shaft 23 and the housing is split at its upper side to provide two spaced apart lugs M8 and H19. A filler block i if? is disposed between the lugs H38 and H39 and this filler block and the lug I09 are provided with registering apertures while the lug I08 is provided with a tapped hole registering with the apertures in the filler block in the lug Hi9. A clamp bolt I l extends through the apertures in the lug Hi9 and in the filler block I H] and is threaded into the tapped hole in the lug 108 to secure the antifriction elements ill in the housing surrounding the shaft 23.

By varying the thickness of the filler block I Hi the bearing can be adjusted to compensate any wear therein.

A pin H2 is secured at one end to the plate portion I M at a location spaced from the bearing housing Hi6 and constitutes an axle for the gear 25. Antifriction roller elements 5 it are disposed in the gear 25 surrounding the axle pin lit? to provide an antifriction bearing mounting for this gear. The bearing arm 28 projects from the plate portion Hi5 immediately below the pin H2 while the bearing arm 2'l projects from the bearing housing 206' for the crank shaft 23.

A collar H t adiustably secured on the shaft 29 bears against the upper end of the bearing 36 for this shaft to secure the shaft against downnailed in said end frames and disposed below s ward longitudinal movement relative to the bearings 3G and 3! and the beveled gear 9'! bears against the lower end of the bearing BI to hold the shaft 29 against upward movement.

The improved bearing bracket above described greatly increases the rigidity of the head motion mechanism and obviates any slack or lost motion the operation of the mechanism and the improved, wear-resisting clutch also obviates lost motion or slack in this part of the mechanism so that the movements of the harness structures are always exactly timed to the operation of the loom crank shaft and are positively moved, thus p rmitting the increase in the speed of the loom, as indicated above.

The invention may be embodiedin other specific for s without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is, there ore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of ecuivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a loom having end frames, an arch disposed above and mounted at its ends on said end frames, a crank shaft 30 arch, and a head motion mechanism mounted on said arch at one end thereof and adjacent one of said end frames, means drivingly conneoting said crank shaft to said head motion mechanism comprising a bracket mounted on said one end frame at the corresponding end of said crank shaft, a vertically disposed shaft journalled in said bracket and extending between said crank shaft and said head motion mechanism, gear means drivingly connecting said shaft at the end thereof adjacent said head motion mechanism to the latter, a clutch mounted on said shaft and including two separable parts one of which is drivingly connected to said vertically disposed shaft and the other which is rotatably mounted thereon and drivingly connected thereto only when said two clutch parts are together, and gear means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said other clutch part.

2. In combination with a loom having end frames, an arch disposed above and mounted at its ends on said end frames, a crank shaft journalled in said end frames and disposed below said rch, and head motion mechanism mounted on said arch at one end thereof and adjacent one of end frames, means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said head motion mechaism comprising a bracket mounted on said one end frame at the corresponding end of said crank shaft, a vertically disposed shaft journalled in said bracket and extending between said crank shaft and said head motion mechanism, gear means drivingly connecting said shaft at the end thereof adjacent said head motion mechanism to the latter, a clutch mounted on said shaft and including two separable parts one of which is drivingly connected to said vertically disposed shaft and the other which is rotatably mounted thereon and drivingly connected thereto only when said two clutch parts are together, and gear means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said other clutch part, said last mentioned gear means comprising a stub shaft mounted on said bracket adjacent said other clutch part, a combination spur gear and beveled gear formation on said other clutch part meshing with the beveled gear component of said combination gear, and a spur gear fixed on said crank shaft and meshing with the spur gear component of said combination gear.

3. In combination with a loom having end frames, an arch disposed above and mounted at its ends on said end frames, a crank shaft journalled in said end frames and disposed below said arch, and a head motion mechanism mounted on said arch at one end thereof and adjacent one of said end frames, means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said head motion mechanism comprising a bracket mounted on said one end frame at the corresponding end of said crank shaft, a vertically disposed shaft journalled in said bracket and extending between said crank shaft and said head motion mechanism, gear means drivingly connecting said shaft at the end thereof adjacent said head motion mechanism to the latter, a clutch mounted on said shaft and including two separable parts one of which is drivingly connected to said verticall disposed shaft and the other which is rotatably mounted thereon and drivingly connected thereto only when said two clutch parts are together, and gear means drivingly connecting crank shaft to said other clutch part, the gear means connecting said crank shaft to said vertically disposed shaft and the gear means connecting said vertically disposed shaft to sai head motion mechanism each including a pair of intermeshing spur gears.

4. In combination with a loom having end frames, an arch di posed above mounted at its cnd frames, a crank jour no.7. end "rames and. disposed below said arch, and a head motion mechanism mounted on said e ch at one end tr reef and adjacent one of end frames, means drivi gly connecting crank shaft to said head motion mechanism comprising a bracket mounted on s one end frame at the corresponding end of said crank shaft, a vertically Josed shaft journalled in said bracket and extending between said crank shaft and head motion mechani gear means drivingiy connecting said shaft at the end thereof adjacent said head motion mechanism to the latter, and means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said vertically disposed corrprising a stub shaft .-untcd on bracket and projecting outwardly the. ofrom, combination beveled gear and spur gear journalled on said stub shaft, a spur gear fixed on said crank shaft and meshing with the spur gear component of said combination gear, first clutch body having a bore extending therethrouc'h and rotatably receiving said vertically disposed. shaft. a beveled formation on one end of said first clutch body meshing with the beveled ear component of said combination. gear, on the other end of said first clutch body providing a substantially in a plane including the rotaaxis of said vertically disposed shaft. a second clutch body mounted on vertically disposed. shaft adj cent said other end of said first c h body, an extension on the end of said secon clutch body adjacent said first clutch body pinviding a face substantially in a plane including the rotational axis of vertically disposed shaft, said extensions overlapp with said faces in mutually opposed cngagemen b when said clutch bodies are together, and means providing a driving connection between said second clutch body 9 and said vertically disposed shaft while providing freedom of sliding movement said second clutch body longitudinally of said vertically disposed shaft toward and away from said first clutch body.

5.111 combination with a loom having end frames, an arch disposed above and mounted at its ends on said end frames, a crank shaft journalled in said end frames and disposed below said arch, and a head motion mechanism mounted on said arch at one end thereof and adjacent one of said end frames, means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said head motion mechanism comprising a bracket mounted on said one end frame at the corresponding end of said crank shaft, a vertically disposed shaft journalled in said bracket and extending between said crank shaft and said head motion mechanism, gear means drivingly connecting said shaft at the end thereof adjacent said head motion mechanism to the latter, and means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said vertically disposed shaft comprising a stub shaft mounted on said bracket and projecting outwardly therefrom, a eombinaticn beveled gear and spur gear journalled on said stub shaft, a spur gear fixed on said crank shaft and meshing with the spur gear component of said combination gear, a first clutch body having a bore extending therethrough and rotatably receiving said vertically disposed shaft, a bevelel gear formation on one end of said first clutch body meshing with the beveled gear component of said combination gear, an extension on the other end of said first clutch body providing a face substantially in a plans including the rotational axis of said. vertically disposed shaft, a second clutch body mounted on said vertically disposed shaft adjacent said other end of said first clutch body, an extension on the end of said second clutch body adjacent said first clutch body providing a face substantially in a plane including the rotational ax s of said vertically disposed shaft, said extensions overlapping with said faces in mutually opposed engagement when said clutch bodies are together, means providing a driving connection between said second clutch body and said vertically disposed shaft while providing freedom of sliding movement of said second clutch body longitudinally of said vertically disposed shaft toward and away from said first clutch body, and manually releasable latch means carried by said second clutch body and engaging said shaft to hold said clutch body together.

6. In combination with a loom having end frames, an arch disposed above and mounted at its ends on said end frames, a crank shaft journalled in said end frames and disposed below said arch, and a head motion mechanism mounted on said arch at one end thereof and adjacent one of said end frames, means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said head motion mechanism comprising a bracket mount- 1o ed on said one end frame at the corresponding end of said crank shaft, a vertically disposed shaft journalled in said bracket and extending between said crank shaft and said head motion mechanism, gear means drivingly connecting said shaft at the end thereof adjacent said head motion mechanism to the latter, a clutch mounted on said shaft and including two separable parts one of which is drivingly connected to said vertically disposed shaft and the other which is rotatably mounted thereon and drivingly connected thereto only when said two clutch parts are together, and gear means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said other clutch part, said bracket comprising a plate portion secured to said one end frame and having on one edge a bearing housing formation receiving said crank shaft, said bearing housing formation being split to provide spaced apart apertured lugs at one side thereof, an apertured filler block between said lugs, antifriction elements in said hous ing surrounding said crank shaft, a clamp bolt extending through said lugs and said filler block to adjust the internal size of said housing, an axle pin secured at one end to said plate portion and projecting outwardly therefrom at a location spaced from said bearing housing, a first bearing arm projecting from said bearing housing, a first bearing on the distal end of said bearing arm, a second bearing arm projecting from said plate portion at a location adjacent said axle pin and in a direction substantially opposite to said first bearing arm, and a second bearing on the distal end of said second bearing arm, said first and second bearings rotatably receiving said vertically disposed shaft and having a common axis disposed at substantially right angles to the axis of said crank shaft, and said gear means drivingly connecting said crank shaft to said vertically disposed shaft including a combination spur gear and beveled gear journalled on said axle pin, a spur gear on said crank shaft meshing with the spur gear component of said combination gear, and a beveled gear drivingly connected to said vertically disposed shaft and meshing with the beveled gear component of said combination gear.

ADOLPHUS I-I. LANDRY.

References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 638,523 Schaum Dec. 5, 1899 685,992 Lacey Nov. 5, 1901 882,643 Lundgren Mar. 24, 1908 886,871 Ryon May 5, 1908 1,947,796 Radford Feb. 20, 1934 2,089,069 Othout Aug. 3, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 801 Great Britain of 1910 

